Winter - United Synagogue Youth

Who Are the Romaniote Jews
You’ve probably never heard of us
by Rose Askinazi, METNY
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When I got the e-
mail on the international
listserve for this issue of
Achshav!, I saw t hat they
were looking for articles by
USYers of Sephardic descent.
It was another reminder
they assimilated into the
majority, Ashkenazic
Jewry. Several years ago,
my Hebrew School class
toured the Lower East Side
of New York City to get a
taste of the history of Jew-
that most people
ish immigration to
assume that if you’re not
Ashkenazic, you must be
Sephardic! Yet there are
more kinds of Jews who are
neither. I happen to be a
Romaniote Jew. You’ve
probably never heard of us.
Who are we
Over 2,000 years
ago, Jews migrated to
The Romaniote synagogue in Janina, Greece.
America. We stumbled
upon a small synagogue
called Kehila Kedosha
Janina. The KKJ is the
only Romaniote synagogue
left in the Western
hemisphere. My dad remembered
that his great
grandparents had been
members there when they
Greece, creating the first European Diaspora. They
flourished there, holding on to their Judaism while
adopting aspects of Greek culture. A Judeo-Greek
language was used in everyday life and also for prayer.
The Romaniotes published their own siddur, the
Mahzor Bene Romania, the oldest in all of Europe.
These Greek Jews survived many political changes,
from the Roman to Byzantine to Ottoman Empires.
In the late 15th century C.E., huge numbers of
Sephardim arrived in Greece. The Sephardim did
not believe the Romaniotes were Jewish, since they
did not speak Ladino. Their sheer numbers overwhelmed
the Romaniote Jews, many of whom
adopted the Sephardic traditions. Pockets of
Romaniote Jews remained in remote areas of Greece,
especially Janina (pronounced Yanina). They made
their living mainly as silversmiths, goldsmith, or makers
of gold and silver thread and silk braids. Economic
hardship forced many Romaniotes to immigrate
to America in the early 1900’s. Sadly, most
remaining Romaniotes perished in the Holocaust.
I didn’t know any of this while growing up,
because when my family had immigrated to America,
first emigrated from Janina. Inside, members recognized
our family name and greeted us warmly. We
decided to learn more about our Romaniote heritage.
After my bat mitzvah, my family joined other
KKJ members on a trip to Janina to research our family
tree. When we arrived, we discovered we were related
to most people from Janina. Upon our return,
we became more involved with Greek-Jewish organizations,
such as the Association of Friends of Greek
Jewry and the Pashas. Through their events and the
KKJ, I am discovering different aspects of our unique
tradition. For example, our version of Adon Olam is
different than the one most people are used to. At
Passover time, we make our charoset into small meatball
sized shapes. The Greek language has no “sh”
sound, so on Saturday mornings you’ll hear the greeting,
“Sabbat Salom!”. That’s also why my name is
pronounced Askinazi, instead of Ashkinazi. And,
learning Greek dances is so much fun!
I think it’s awesome to be identified as a
Romaniote, and I am proud of it, especially since there
are only a few thousand of us scattered throughout
America, Israel, and Greece.
*mixac